For my senior year, I’ve been interning at Sentara RMH with the Psychiatric Emergency Team (PET). PET is a group of Counselors called in for patients experiencing psychological crises.
This can include people of all backgrounds of any age. If a patient comes into the emergency department following a suicide attempt, calls the suicide hotline and is brought in for suicidal ideation, or actively experiencing hallucinations, delusions, or psychosis, PET sees the patient and gives them a psychological evaluation. For my internship, I’ve gotten to shadow these assessments. Additionally, I help conduct bed searches, which are when a patient meets criteria for inpatient hospitalization, but Sentara’s behavioral health unit is full. I also answer calls from other hospitals when they are conducting bed searches to find a bed for one of their patients.
As one could imagine, it’s challenging and depressing most days. More people want to kill themselves than I realized. The lack of coping skills and the patients who keep coming back is hard to see. And although COVID-19 slowed down the number of patients PET could see last March and April due to the shutdown and lack of understanding about the virus in general, the past year has been busier for PET than it was before COVID-19.
When I go on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons, I suit up with two masks and a face shield before going into the office to help with bed searches and other phone calls. I’m on the phone for most of the time I’m getting my hours, with an occasional break to go shadow an evaluation. Sometimes when I finish my four-hour shift, there are still four or five patients for PET to see.
The youngest child I saw was six. I’ve seen people from elementary school, middle school, high school, and college. Many of them are struggling with online classes. They miss hanging out with friends or seeing family members. They’re bored, upset, and scared. They each have a lot going on at home, with school, in friendships. Sometimes they cry or yell. Sometimes they barely speak. When I leave for the day, I often feel worn out- psychologically and emotionally. I walk to my car and call my boyfriend. The conversation is brief but comforting. Support is necessary for the internship.
I was unsure how I would feel about such a short interaction. I’ve always thought I would become a therapist with private practice and the whole thing, but PET is amazing. When the clinician only has fifteen minutes to solve the initial problem, the solution needs to be clever and quick. We aren’t fixing the patient’s life; we are simply figuring out if the patient is safe to go home. Are they a danger to themselves or others? Yes or no. It’s short and sweet. If yes, then we admit the patient. If no, then they can go home.
In situations where additional counseling may
be beneficial, we can offer a wide variety of brochures about all types of programs and treatment options. Before my internship, I didn’t realize PET existed. They are a fantastic resource if you or a loved one is experiencing thoughts of harm towards self or others. PET is also a great internship opportunity for any of my fellow psychology majors.